The CAT 797 mining truck is one of the largest haul trucks in the world and putting one together requires giant machinery that makes the truck look like a humungous Transformer or starship or alien planet station or mech or anything that’s comically oversized being built.

Gearheads at Carnegie Mellon University are partnering up with tractor-maker Caterpillar to build the world's largest robotic dump truck, a 700-ton ground mover capable of hauling 240 tons of earth. In case you can't wrap your head around that amount, that's like 33 African bull elephants worth of dirt. The trucks…